EU sets new ecodesign rules for freezers, TVs

BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday targeted industrial motors, television sets, refrigerators and other appliances with new eco-design rules aimed at improving energy efficiency.

The Commission said four eco-design regulations that included circulators, found in buildings' boiler or heating systems, and freezers will save about 190 Terrawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year by 2020 if fully implemented.

This is comparable to the combined annual electricity consumption of Sweden and Austria, the Commission said.

The EU has pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions to a fifth below 1990 levels by 2020.

These new rules follow a raft of other regulations, introduced by the EU executive to curb the environmental impact of consumerism in the bloc by supporting eco-friendly products, innovation and technology.

The Commission hopes to save 135 TWh of electricity per year by 2020 with new energy performance requirements for most of the electric motors used in industrial applications.

The rules will foster the use of "variable speed drives" adjusting the motor output to the actual needs, instead of operating always at full capacity, the Commission said.

The Commission said regulation on circulators will shift the market to "intelligent" high efficiency circulators capable of adjusting their performance to the needs of the heating system, while that on televisions and refrigerators/freezers will leave only efficient products on the market.